Stanford Ponzi Investors Lose Bid to Hold Financial Firms Liable

Two financial services firms aren’t liable for the $7 billion R. Allen Stanford Ponzi scheme because they didn’t control Stanford Trust Co., a federal judge ruled.

SEI Investments Co. and SEI Private Trust Co. provided trust processing and reporting services to Stanford Trust. But they didn’t control Stanford Trust and weren’t responsible for the fraud, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana said, granting summary judgment in SEI’s favor.

The Louisiana investors suing SEI acquired Stanford International Bank Ltd. certificates of deposit through Stanford Trust, the order said. They lost their investments when the Stanford Ponzi ...